Thank you very much for inviting me and for giving me this opportunity to address this very important and topical subject that is likely to affect the future of all of us.

1. The relationship between Malaysia’s political economy and the international economic crises is not an easy subject but a vast and complex subject which can touch on very sensitive issues. But the urgency of the subject is such that we must think and speak about it. Be that as it may, I have to state what I think is the heart of the problem of our political economy in view of the experience of the West which is unfolding at the moment. The full impact of what is happening in the West is yet to be revealed and it is possible that it will be a continuing process of revelation. It has been suggested by some political and economic observers that the crisis is likely to be the worst economic crises since the 1930s, and that it is bound to affect the entire world. But there are some who believe that the effect on Asia will not be the same as in the West. That may or may not be true, but in this age, no country is an economic island or indeed a political island. To emphasize the point, 30% of China’s economy is dependent on the wellbeing of the European economy. Any shrinkage in the West is bound to affect China. This can be said of many Asian countries.

KOTA BAHARU, Feb 2 (Bernama) -- Gua Musang MP Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah said Thursday his absence at meetings of the Kelantan Umno Liaison Committee must not be mistaken for a boycott.

The Gua Musang Umno Division chief said he did not stay away from the meetings on purpose.

"I do not attend, not that I do not want to attend, because I get the invitation (for the meetings) one day late or on the eve of the meetings," he told reporters after attending a closed-door meeting of the committee with visiting Deputy Prime Minister and Umno deputy president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin here.

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